The present invention relates to an educational amusement device which includes a game card in combination with a publication, such as a magazine having pages with advertisements which are used to play the game. The invention also relates to a method for using a game card in a word game which employs advertisements as a component part, regardless of whether the advertisements are presented in a publication or another medium, such as television. As used herein, the term "game" also means "contest" if the game is played competitively by different players.
What might be called "reader's time" is probably the most valued goal sought by advertisers in printed publications such as magazines. Similarly, "viewer's time" is sought by television advertisers, "listener's time" is sought by radio advertisers, and so forth. Vast amounts of money are spent on advertisements in various media in an attempt to persuade consumers to use the advertised products or services, but in our advertising-saturated society many consumers tend to skim over or pay scant attention to advertisements in any of the media. As a result there is a constant quest in the advertising business to devise fresh advertisements which will present the merits of a product or service to the consuming public in an entertaining or otherwise memorable manner.
Word games of various types have long been enjoyed as a relatively cerebral way to provide entertainment. Crossword puzzles are a familiar example. In a cross-word puzzle a matrix of squares is provided along with a set of definitions or other guides to words which are to be inserted by a player to complete the puzzle. The popular word game "Scrabble" also relies on a matrix of positions, but in this case players draw playing pieces which are then deposited on the matrix to form words. In another type of word game, groups of letters are dissected to identify different words. For example a school teacher in the elementary grades might deaden the pain of a spelling lesson by presenting a contest in which the members of her class are asked to consider an assigned word and decompose it into the maximum number of smaller words.